James Bond goes into battle with invisible cars and guns that recognise his own hand.

In 1942, the gadgets dreamed up by Britain’s secret services were a little more primitive.

For their time, however, they were probably equally impressive to those whose lives depended on them.

The 1942 classified catalogue contains top secret designs for such covert equipment as playing cards that, when placed together, form a map. Fewer than 100 of the manuals were printed

The gadgets were placed in food parcels and sent to British PoWs in camps such as Colditz or the 'Great Escape' prison, Stalag Luft III

Tiny compasses hidden inside buttons
or gold teeth, a map of Germany in a pack of playing cards, and a camera
concealed in a cigarette lighter are among the secret weapons listed in
a highly classified catalogue that has just come up for auction.

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Many were the brainchild of
Christopher Hutton, who had a similar role to Q in the Bond films. He
worked for the government’s secret MI9 agency, set up to help resistance
fighters and escapees.

The inventions in the catalogue,
compiled to teach US intelligence officers the secrets of British
espionage, were hidden in food and supply parcels delivered to British
PoWs by the Red Cross.

Some of the fascinating gadgets include maps of Germany printed on silk, so they didn't rustle, which could be crammed inside pencils, vinyl records, cigars and pipes

Christopher Hutton's kits are credited with helping 316 escape attempts from Colditz which saw 32 men return home

The rare copy of the book, Per Ardua Libertas - Liberty Through Adversity - was a dummy version retained by the London printing company

They included pencils and cigars which
concealed maps of Germany printed on silk so they wouldn’t rustle when
unravelled. Hacksaws were hidden inside dart boards and tiny radio
receivers were concealed in cigar boxes.

Fewer than 100 of the 76-page
booklets, called Per Ardua Libertas (Liberty Through Adversity), are
believed to have been printed.

One dummy version kept by the
printers, the London-based Sun Engraving Company, was inherited by a
Devon man, who is now selling it through auction house Bonhams, with a
pre-sale estimate of £800. The document, described as an exceptionally
rare find, includes a page explaining how the top layer of a set of
playing cards could be removed to reveal the pieces for a map of Europe.

Other inventions included service
uniforms and boots that could be converted into civilian suits and
shoes. The agents also designed a white cotton handkerchief which, when
dropped into a special chemical, revealed a map of Germany.

Many of the maps included instructions for escaping from a specific camp.

Other notes told soldiers: ‘If pursued on open mountains, make for the loose rocks which can be rolled and avoid solid rock.

‘Besides the cover, one near miss with a 10lb rock will often scare off a man.’

LIFE IN THE CAMPS FOR PoWs

Prisoners play volleyball in Colditz

Around 135,000 British PoWs were held by Germany in camps such as Colditz (above) in WWII.

Most
were treated relatively well, as both nations were signatories to the
Geneva Convention (1929) and the Red Cross had access to camps.

Officers were never made to work, and other ranks were usually compensated for forced labour.

This relatively humane treatment resulted in a 3.5 per cent death rate
among British PoWs in German camps, the lowest of any Allied nation.

Most
PoWs were held in camps in Germany, some in Poland. Under international
law, PoWs were entitled to try to escape. However the German 'bullet
decree' allowed guards to shoot those who did.

The
secret MI9 unit was set up to assist with escape attempts by British
PoWs. Stalag 383 was regarded as the best camp. Guards left its
day-to-day running to British officers, and pets were allowed.

Stalag
IX-B, meanwhile, was one of the worst. PoWs slept 160 to a room,
sharing a single tap and a hole in the ground for a toilet.

The book, printed by the Sun Engraving Company, is being sold by Bonhams next January with a pre-sale estimate of £800